Faculty Salaries at Lutheran Institutions: Are They Equitable?

Someone sent me an Excel spreadsheet with data for the average full-time faculty salaries of selected Lutheran institutions from 1980-2010, which I thought was interesting.  You can download a copy of the Excel file here.  The results:

Click on the graphics for an expanded view.

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Fun at Work

The reason for the bulletproof locked cockpit door is to keep the flight attendants from storming the cockpit and attempting to issue orders, like these three flight attendants thought they'd try on one of my flights:

I was out on the tarmac having a smoke at the time:

This is how it's supposed to look.  The First Class section is even nicer:

That's why I get paid the big bucks - to exercise overall command of the aircraft and maintain control of the flight deck at all times.  Some days work out better than others.

The Original Lutheran Confession: The A.C.

So what’s the original, evangelical, catholic, Lutheran symbol?

Warning: This is a trick question. Click below to confirm your answer.

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We Become More and More Certain of the Truth

Quoting from Dr. Martin Luther's preface to Justus Menius' book The Doctrine and Secret of the Anabaptists, Refuted from Scripture, published in 1530:

Our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed quite clearly in Matthew 18 [:7] that His beloved Church would always have to suffer sets and factions when He said, “For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!” Also St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11[:19], “There must be factions or heresy in order that those who are genuine may be manifest.” And 2 Peter 2[:1], “There will be false teachers among you, just as there were also false prophets among them.” That is exactly how things have happened since the beginning of Christendom, even at the time of the apostles and ever since, and thus it will be until the end of the world. For Christ is a King and Lord, and therefore He must also do battle and make war. But He battles spiritually with the truth against the lies, and so the lies take up arms and refuse to submit. That is how the sects come about and such riot and clamor arise in Christendom.

Therefore, no one should wonder or be appalled when he sees sectarian spirits and heretics rise up among the Christians and bluster so abominably against the truth. If you are a Christian and believe Christ and His apostles, then you must also believe and expect this, for they say, “Factions and scandal must come.” You cannot consider these words of theirs as lies or as idle, frivolous talk, but rather as speaking of honorable, important, terrible things, as it is fitting for God’s Word to speak; and you must not think it strange when they come, but learn to expect it, so that you can say: “Very well, let whatever is coming come. I have long known that factions would have to come. If it were not these, it would have to be others; if these were to cease, others would start.” If you want to have the precious Gospel, then you must also have the gates of hell and the devil [Matt. 16:18], so that you do not possess that Gospel along with love or with peace, as Christ says, “My peace I give you, not as the world gives” [John 14:27].

And, in sum, the devil is a blustering, rattling, and rumbling spirit; he cannot refrain from blustering and rumbling. Up till now, under the pope, he has blustered and rattled about in houses, in churches, in the field, and in the forest and has opened a soul-market there. He has hawked his wares and sold them in exchange for human souls, and thereby has dragged the Mass and all Christian works into purgatory—indeed, even into hell—and has stuffed all the world’s goods into lazy and gluttonous stomachs, indeed, he has buried them in the toilets and latrines of the cloisters and foundations of clergy. But now that this soul-market of his has been suppressed, he is beginning to rattle and rumble anew through the sectarian spirits. So, just as no one fears the rattling ghosts in their houses anymore, neither should we any longer be dismayed by rattling among the sects. There must be such rattling and rumbling so long as the world stands!

But everything must turn out for our good [Rom. 8:28]—and not by producing only a single kind of benefit. First of all, through it we become practiced in handling and keeping God’s Word all the more carefully, and thus we become more and more certain of the truth. For if there were no such sects through which the devil awakened us, we would become too lazy and would sleep and snore ourselves to death. Further, both faith and the Word would become dull and rusty among us until everything were destroyed. But instead such sets are our whetting stone and burnisher that sharpen and hone our faith and doctrine, so that they shine bright and pure like a mirror; and [we] also become acquainted thereby with the devil and his intentions and become ready and skilled for battle against him. None of this would happen if the sects left us in peace.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, American Edition, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown. vol. 59, Prefaces I, (Saint Louis: CPH, 2011) 267.

Scientists Discover Diversification of the Human Genome Which Supports the Biblical Account of the Flood

As reported by Dr. Jeffrey Tomkins on the Institute for Creation Research website, researchers have discovered that the human genome began to rapidly diversify about 5,000 years ago – a fact which certainly is consistent with the Biblical account of the flood.

In a study reported in the July 6, 2012 issue of Science, researchers analyzed the DNA sequences in a large group of European Americans and African Americans. Their data, coupled with demographic models, revealed the recent burst in genetic diversification. Dr. Tomkins comments:

The authors wrote, "The maximum likelihood time for accelerated growth was 5,115 years ago." Old-earth proponents now have a new challenge: to explain why—after millions of years of hardly any genetic variation among modern humans—human genomic diversity exploded only within the last five thousand years?

However, the same data conforms to and dramatically confirms biblical history. Since the author's date represents the maximum time, the actual DNA diversification event probably occurred even sooner. A biblical time scale indicates that a global flood occurred about 4,500 years ago, and this closely correlates with the time scale of the researcher's estimate.

Once again, science is the ally of the truth found in Holy Scripture.

My Answer to District President David Benke: “No!”

In yesterday’s post, I commented on the Deacon program that’s going on in the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, based on the parameters set forth in their defining document called “Diaconate Guidelines.” President Benke, on the ALPB forum, responded as follows:

I don't know what the LCMS District Task Force will be doing, but the author of the blog is off base. There is no performance of the distinctive marks of the pastoral office by female deacons either preaching or consecrating Holy Communion in the AD; there is no performance of the distinctive marks of the pastoral office by male deacons by consecrating Holy Communion, and preaching only occasionally under supervision or reading the sermons of others by male deacons in several circumstances that are both tiny and far from another parish. There are no unsupervised free-range deacons. There is an established, ten course preparation for the diaconate plus 200 hours of pre-interview service required, plus a theological interview, plus ongoing continuing education necessity for every-three-year district re-certification.

There is nothing being done by Atlantic District deacons that is outside the covenants of love of the LC-MS or the boundaries of the Lutheran Confessions and Holy Scriptures. And the parishes and pastors and workers of the Atlantic District are happy and blessed with these trained non-ordained auxiliary servants. Our diaconate provides a helpful model for theologically trained volunteer parish servants that indeed I wish more districts would tackle. The teachers are LC--MS pastors, trusted catechists (my formational view is that the diaconate is confessionally subscribed at the level of the Large Catechism and the Augsburg Confession), so that they might train catechists for parishes - my own parish is catechized through the diaconate except for adult catechesis, which is my responsibility. That's it and that's all.

Dave Benke

My answer to President Benke is that no, my blog post was not off base. It pointed out the very broad latitude that is granted to the male and female deacons of the District according to the District document - latitude that is not permitted in Scripture. It does not reflect what we believe, teach, and confess as a synod. It is outside the covenant of love that exists within our synod and out of synch with the spirit of Koinonia. I take President Benke at his word when he later further clarifies the position of the District on the ALPB Forum, stating that they don't do what they say they can do (pasted below). We should not, however, as Lutherans, write documents of this importance with such sloppiness. The practice in the district may be entirely ship-shape in some people’s minds; the confession, as put down in the document, is not. Men and women are given the exact same leeway in the document – the reported practice and the guidelines do not agree with one another. This is the historical equivalent of drawing up a set church orders, and then not following them. People write things down for a reason.

Here is President Benke's further comment, answering several questions from another commenter:

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The Atlantic District of the LCMS – Dividing the House

The Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has its own version of Licensed Deacons, whom they call “Commissioned District Deacon.” It is unique to the Atlantic District of course – you must remain in their fiefdom. In this case, the lord of the fiefdom is District President David Benke.

A few highlights of the program from the Atlantic District’s “Diaconate Guidelines” document:

4.1 At the heart of the ministry of deacons are works of mercy, witness, and worship, in solidarity with the poor and needy. The actual tasks undertaken by members of the diaconate will vary according to the gifts and skills of the deacon and the needs of the church and its surrounding community. Deacons so gifted will engage in various ministries of teaching within the congregation/agency, including baptismal and communion preparation, catechesis of youth and adults, and small group Bible study leadership or supervision. All aspects of diaconal ministry are under the supervision of the supervising pastor.

4.2 Members of the diaconate assume a leadership role in worship, but this is never to be their primary task. Rather, the serving function of deacons in the Church’s liturgy is to be a reflection of their tangible, actual servant hood in the world.

4.3 Members of the district diaconate shall neither preside at the Holy Eucharist nor exercise the Office of the Keys. In the absence of an ordained pastor and with approval of the pastor and congregation, the deacon may serve at the divine service including the communion liturgy using reserved sacrament. This practice should be used sparingly so as to not confuse the “Office of Deacon” and the “Office of Pastor.” The deacon may officiate at funerals under the direction of a supervising pastor. The deacon may proclaim the Gospel in formal and informal settings after he/she has received training in homiletics and while remaining under the supervision of an ordained pastor.

5.5 It is expected that most members of the district diaconate will continue to hold regular employment and therefore would be involved in diaconal service on a part-time, non-stipendiary basis. There may be instances however, when a deacon serves a ministry for a stipend….

So the Deacon shall not preside at the Holy Eucharist, except where they may, and they may proclaim the Gospel in the worship service. This violates our own confession, as Augsburg Confession Article XIV reads “Our churches teach that no one should publicly teach or preach in the Church, or administer the Sacraments, without a properly ordered call” – that means a pastor. And since the Deacons of the Atlantic District may be male or female, it certainly creates even more confusion, since women would then be preaching and administering the Sacrament, a move which violates the trust of our walk together as a synod. I’ve heard rumblings from people who think that this is a back door approach to women’s ordination. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but now would be a great time to reread Pastor Todd Wilken’s excellent article “From Exception to Rule: How Error Replaces Truth in the Church.”

Ironically, the Atlantic District’s program continues at a time when other districts resolved in convention to abolish these types of programs. A house divided against itself cannot stand.


photo credit: Martin Cathrae

What Not to Do

The (dirty) window

The wall

The sun

The mirror

The result

The moral of the story: Don't buy your wife a fancy concave mirror.  It's a good thing I know how to patch wallpaper.

The Beginning of the Distinctively Christian Life

Quoting from Dr. Henry Hamann’s book On Being a Christian: A Personal Confession:

…Baptism is the beginning of the distinctively Christian life. It is possible—and, indeed, it happens often enough—that a person comes to faith before the actual act of baptism, and that such faith produces the desire to be baptized. But Baptism is still the beginning of the Christian life. For it is an objective, out-there act that can be observed, and as such it has a concreteness about it that faith cannot have. Baptism can be observed by everybody; faith, by nobody. What is more, faith is never an unbroken, continuous line, like physical life. Faith may be lost; a person may come to faith again and again. Because of this movement involving faith and because of such repeated acts of faith, no one act of faith can be the beginning of the Christian life.

...Lutherans speak of daily contrition and repentance, a daily coming to faith. Faith may be subject to doubt, but Baptism never fails. It links believers with the great act of Jesus Christ for their salvation: his death and resurrection. As that event is always valid for the Christian, so Baptism which links the Christian to that event is always valid for the one baptized.

Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian: A Personal Confession, (Milwaukee: Northwestern, 1998) 93, 94.

What Is the Significance of Movement in the Divine Service?

Here's a snippet of Pastor Will Weedon discussing this significance of movement in the Divine Service. This is a portion of Part 4 of the Issues, Etc. weekly series on the liturgy, which deals with the Introit and the Gloria Patri. You can listen to the whole thing here.